Abstracts of Papers read on Geology. 521 



Evidence suggests that fauna B is an exotic fauna, possibly southern 

 in origin, which migrated into the British area. Becoming early- 

 established in South Scotland, it soon spread west into Ireland, but 

 did not dominate the whole British area till Ashgillian times. 



6. The Basal Carboniferoits Beds at Lye, isr South Staffordshike. 

 By W. Wickham King, F.G.S., and "W. J. Lewis, B.Sc. 



IJST the Geol. Mag., Dec. Y, Yol. IX, p. 437, 1912, we announced 

 (i^iter alia) that purple beds of Lower Old Bed age existed at 

 Saltwells. Since then we have ascertained that 2 miles to the south, 

 at Lusbridge Brook, Lye, below the Thick Coal, Carboniferous beds 

 are exposed for a thickness of nearly 400 feet as against about 200 feet 

 at Saltwells. These basal beds are difficult to interpret. 



The succession below the Thick Coal in Lusbridge Brook is thus : 

 (ff) Yarious Clays and Coals, 280 feet; (5) Conglomerate, 27 feet; 

 (c) Red Clays (Plants) and White and Yellow Clays, in which are 

 embedded many pieces of quite unworn Cherts, and at base Limestone 

 Grits and a Conglomerate, thickness 40 feet ; {d) White, Bed, and 

 Yellow Clays, {d) is only exposed for about 30 feet. Total below 

 Thick Coal, 377 feet. Mr. T. ,G. Meachem has kindly given to us 

 data proving that the beds down to the base of (3) are the same 

 thickness in the Freehold Pit, Lye, and that there, below {b), they 

 pierced Red Marls for 150 feet. 



The interesting zones are those in which the Limestone Grit and 

 Cherts occur. Broken fossils occur in the Limestone Grit, which is 

 made up largely of angular pieces of Limestone. In the Conglomerate 

 (3) a pebble 18 inches in diameter of highly calcareous grit containing 

 Calamites varians has been found, which is probably another type of 

 this Limestone Grit. A precisely similar calcareous grit was found 

 in situ at or below {h) in the Freehold Pit, and above {c) a nearly 

 similar type occurs in the form of gigantic slabs 2\ feet thick in the 

 Lye Cemetery. 



The Cherts contain many casts of fossils, but they are so imperfect 

 that we hesitate to name them. We found in the clays (c) a minute 

 fragment of a Brachiopod with a straight hinge-line. 



Pebbles of {inter alia) Limestone Grit and Cherts occur in the 

 Conglomerates. 



The Limestone Grits, Cherts, and Clays at Lye are such as might 

 be laid down in the vicinity of a shore-line and there disintegrated 

 in situ. In several respects they resemble the Rush Conglomerates 

 of Lower Carboniferous age in Ireland. Compare Q.J.G.S., vol, Ixii, 

 p. 285. 



In the Conglomerates there is distinct evidence of Inter-Carboni- 

 ferous denudation which removed in places, as at Saltwells, the 

 Coal-measure Ironstone {Neuropteris), Coal Seams, Grey Limestones, 

 Limestone Grits, and Cherts. 



In Q.I.G.S., vol. Iv, p. 123, 1899, Mr. King showed that all the 

 pebbles in the Permian Conglomerates of the Severn Basin are 

 referable to a local source, except only those of Lower Carboniferous 

 age. The last- mentioned pebbles contain Syringopora and Caninia. 



